The Star Interview with Richard Blackledge: Life on the frontline of change in Sheffield’s health service

The idea of getting more patients out of hospital and treating them closer to home has been an ambition for years in Sheffield.
But the head of the organisation responsible for guarding the city’s health money is candid in admitting: “We’ve not really achieved it - and we’ve still got a way to go.”
Maddy Ruff is the accountable officer for the NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group, and has been in the role for just over 12 months, grappling with the challenge of boosting community services closer to patients’ homes when there is little chance of an increase in funding in the near... read more

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